Texas Sake – Tasting Flights
Radio Coffee & Beer – Iced Matcha Latte and Iced Oatmilk Latte
Project Pollo – Pumpkin Spice Milkshake
Opera Cafe – Chagaccino
NadaMoo – Birthday Cake Shake
Matcha – Cha No Yu
Tag: refreshing
Rice, Rice, Baby
Young vegans today don’t even know how good they’ve got it. Back in my day, dairy-free milk was still a rarity, available only in niche health food stores. Even there, your choices were limited to only soy or rice. Oat? Almond? Cashew? Forget about it! Who knew there were so many potential sources of creamy liquid back then?
Shelf stockers at mainstream markets would either scratch their heads, dumbfounded by the request, or haplessly led you to the lactose-free cartons. For a compassionate eater living in the suburbs, without a driver’s license, that meant stocking up and paying obscene prices for the luxury of access, or getting a bit more creative.
Guess which path I chose?
When sold in watered down cartons, rice milk was usually my least favorite option, but at home, I found a crafty loophole to create a thicker, richer blend. Creating a dense rice milk concentrate, not entirely dissimilar to wallpaper paste, I could better control the viscosity, flavor, and sweetness, all while building up a stockpile to easily whip up another cup, quart, or gallon at a time if I so desired. It was cheap, effective, and highly satisfying to beat the system.
Over time, my own means of access improved along with a boom in widespread availability. Once an essential staple, that formula that served me so well fell to the back of the digital recipe box. Collecting virtual dust, forgotten until an unfortunate computer crash forced me back onto an old laptop, it suddenly popped up like a long lost friend.
Today in 2021, I don’t need to make my own rice milk in bulk (thank the stars) but the concept spoke to me in a whole new way this time around. With a few little tweaks, a little polish, and some modern upgrades, I had a beautiful, brilliant instant horchata concentrate on my hands.
Perfect for sweltering summer heat when all you need is a tall, icy drink to keep your cool, horchata is the ultimate agua fresca. Creamy but not thick or rich, subtle notes of cinnamon and almond play in the background with in delicate, balanced harmony.
By skipping the time-consuming step of soaking whole grains of rice, prep time is slashed by an eighth or more, and it’s ready to reconstitute whenever a profound thirst strikes. Whether you’re serving a solo drinker or making a pitcher for a party, this stuff is like liquid gold for a quick fix.
We may not need bulk rice milk anymore, but you can never have too much horchata.
Beets Me
This blog post is sponsored by iHerb but as always,the opinions and experiences expressed in this post are my own.
Blood red, murky liquid filled the glass, dark and menacing, yet impossibly, inexplicably appealing. Touted as an everyday superfood, hidden in plain sight on the supermarket shelves yet locked away just beyond reach, beet juice is both laughably commonplace and frustratingly difficult to get a hold of all at once. Brimming with nutrients shown to improve stamina, improve blood flow, and help lower blood pressure, vitamins and minerals are all locked away within the tough, fibrous exterior of these hard root vegetables. Drinking straight beet juice cuts out the middleman to make this rich source of folate, potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants, far more accessible for instant absorption. Call it the new energy drink; no caffeine need apply.
What of the flavor, you ask? Some people can’t get past that deep, earthy taste, but all I get is subtle, natural sweetness. It helps that I’ve taken to mixing up Nature’s Way Beet Root Powder lately, which is far easier than fumbling with a messy juicer and consistently palatable. Mixing up instantly with plain water, you couldn’t find a better source of instant vegetative goodness.
Idly browsing the pages of iHerb as I’m apt to do, powdered beets stood out as a specialty item that should really be a mainstream staple. I’ve never encountered this powerful new ingredient before, which makes it particularly fortunate that iHerb is fully stocked, carrying this and over 400 Nature’s Way products that can be shipped to over 160 countries, and representatives that offer support in 10 languages.
For those of you still balking at the idea of chugging a tall glass of beet juice, no matter how mild, fear not. I have three different ideas here for refreshing, revitalizing drinks you will genuinely enjoy.
Popularized by Starbucks but improved by real ingredients, the famous pink drink blushes a bit more boldly with an infusion of not only Wilderness Poets Freeze Dried Dragon Fruit Powder for flavor, but our hero, the beet mixed in for backup support. Stash Mango Passionfruit Tea brews up a tropical base for both the colorful swirl and rich cream contrast, thanks to Earth Circle Organics Coconut Cream Powder, creating a far more flavorful blend than anything coming plain out of a can.
Popularized by Starbucks but improved by real ingredients, the famous pink drink blushes a bit more boldly with an infusion of freeze dried dragonfruit powder for flavor with beet powder for color.
Yield: 1 – 2 Servings
Pink Ombre Drink
Prep Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 18Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 16mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g 
For a quick sip on a hot summer’s day, nothing can beat a zesty glass of fresh lemonade. Nothing, except for lemonade infused with the vitality of beets and fruitiness of blueberries. Mingling together in a harmonious purple blend, this is an easy way to introduce the pickiest of eaters and drinkers to the idea of liquefied root vegetables. Dynamic Health Laboratories Pure Blueberry Juice Concentrate is so powerful that just a tiny drop add volumes of fresh berry essence in an instant. Since whipping up this drink, I’ve used it as an utterly luscious glaze over baked tempeh and rich finishing drizzle over many salads, too.
For a quick sip on a hot summer’s day, nothing can beat a zesty glass of fresh lemonade. Nothing, except for lemonade infused with the vitality of beets and fruitiness of blueberries. Mingling together in a harmonious purple blend, this is an easy way to introduce the pickiest of eaters and drinkers to the idea of liquefied root vegetables.
Yield: 3 - 5 Servings
Purple Lemonade
Prep Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 8Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g 
Finally, because this is the 21st century and we CAN have our cake and drink it, too, red velvet gets a nutritious boost from these beets, plus a powerful punch of Sunwarrior Vanilla Warrior Blend Protein. Thick and creamy, it’s good enough to call dessert, but healthy enough to throw down for breakfast.
We CAN have our cake and drink it, too. Red velvet gets a nutritious boost from these beets, plus a powerful punch of protein powder. Thick and creamy, it’s good enough to call dessert, but healthy enough to throw down for breakfast.
Yield: 1 Serving
Red Velvet Protein Shake
Prep Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 160Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 264mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 1gSugar: 64gProtein: 18g
Neither Fish Nor Fowl
Contrary to popular belief, ceviche needn’t include any seafood to be considered “authentic,” or more importantly, to be considered delicious. One of many dishes with murky origins, it’s largely credited to the Peruvians, but it made its mark on cultures across all continents. If one were to look at the Latin etymology, it would simply mean “food for men and animals;” an ambiguous free-for-all with very little meaning other than the fact that it was, indeed, edible. Turning to Arabic, we see the foundation for “cooking in vinegar.” Persian would agree, going further to suggest that it was a “vinegar soup.” Sure, fish or meat was almost always invited to the party, but that doesn’t mean it was essential to the soul of the dish.
Scores of creative ceviches abound, plant-based and seasoned with a wide palate of different cultural perspectives. The most successful ones that I’ve come across take texture into account even before the flavor is considered, as backwards as that may sound. Few people realize just how much of the eating experience comes down to texture, which is why ceviche is a particularly fascinating preparation to experiment with. As long as it has a somewhat meaty yet springy texture that approximates something like shrimp or calamari, accompanied by a brightly acidic twang, you can craft a highly satisfying vegan rendition, no questions asked. Thus, upon biting into a fresh, juicy lychee, inspiration for a new approach struck me like lightning.
As the rest of the country starts hunting through their closets for long-forgotten sweaters and scarves, predictably, the bay area is forced to start shedding layers. The heat continues to skyrocket and the only thing I want to eat is something quick, cold, and satisfying. Ceviche fits neatly into that definition, no matter what else you consider essential. Packing it with buttery avocados and young coconut meat adds richness to this otherwise very lean preparation, fit for either a light meal or a good snack. Packed with crisp vegetables, everything is open to interpretation based on your personal tastes and accessibility. Want to mix it up? Consider ripe tomatoes, cubed watermelon, fresh corn, marinated mushrooms, chunks of fried plantain, or even steamed sweet potatoes, just for starters. Borrow from as many different cultures as you like; for ceviche, as long as it’s cold and raw, pretty much anything goes.
The only inviolable rule is to use ONLY fresh lychees, and I must be adamant about that. Canned can never compare, possessing both an unnatural sweetness and unpleasantly sour, metallic aftertaste. If you can’t find fresh, just double up on the coconut, and choose your own vegetable adventure from there.
Yield: Makes 4 – 6 Servings
Island Breeze Lychee Ceviche
Buttery avocados and young coconut meat adds richness to this otherwise very lean plant-based preparation, fit for either a light meal or a good snack. Packed with crisp vegetables, everything is open to interpretation based on your personal tastes and accessibility. Want to mix it up? Consider ripe tomatoes, cubed watermelon, fresh corn, marinated mushrooms, chunks of fried plantain, or even steamed sweet potatoes, just for starters. Borrow from as many different cultures as you like; for ceviche, as long as it’s cold and raw, pretty much anything goes.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Additional Time
30 minutes
Total Time
35 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 – 12 Fresh Lychees, Peeled, Pitted, and Quartered (About 2/3 Cup)
- 1 Fresh Young Thai Coconut, Meat Removed and Diced
- 1/2 Large Cucumber, Peeled and Seeded
- 1 Small Avocado, Diced
- 3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Pineapple Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Vegan Fish Sauce or Soy Sauce
- 1 Red Jalapeno, Seeded and Finely Minced
- 2 Scallions, Thinly Sliced
- 1/4 Cup Packed Fresh Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
- Salt, to Taste
Instructions
- To prepare ceviche, you shouldn’t really need written instructions to break it down, but here goes: Toss everything together in a large bowl except for the salt, cover, and let marinate in the refrigerator for 15 – 30 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve thoroughly chilled, with crackers if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 99Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g
In [Lemon] Mint Condition
Years ago, back when a trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house really was a trek through the woods, and quite a few miles, I would spend the long car ride anticipating all of the goodies to come. Nothing less than the perfect grandparents, they kept their home stocked with the foods that my young, underdeveloped palate adored, and often was denied in most circumstances. It was as if they went grocery shopping with just us kids in mind.
Cabinets stacked high with dried pasta, we could have chosen a new shape each visit and still have never run out of new whimsical noodles to try. Candy dishes decorated every spare flat surface, and I recall on more than one occasion slipping away to “play piano” in order to get dibs on the mint chocolates stashed on the glossy wooden lid.
Best of all, though, was the spare fridge in the basement. That’s where the real treasure was hidden: the cookies.
Perhaps they had a penchant for buying in bulk, but it seemed as though there were never fewer than a half-dozen open packages to pick at. Eaten right away, with the refrigerator’s cool breath still clinging to them, chilling each morsel to the core, it was a unique experience that made even mundane, store-bought baked goods seem somehow special.
My absolute favorites were the big, crisp cookies covered in so much powdered sugar that you couldn’t help but spray some of the white sweetness all over your clothes, and the surrounding furniture, as you ate. I never learned the name of those cookies and haven’t seen the exact ones since, but they sound a whole lot like the discontinued lemon coolers, a classic Girl Scouts offering.
With the annual Girl Scouts’ harassment in full-swing, these sweets immediately came to mind, and I couldn’t resist a little trip down memory lane. A bit more grown up than those original cookies, my version adds a bright splash of peppermint to the party, replicating that cooling sensation I enjoyed so much. For the full experience, you’ve simply got to store them in the fridge… Although considering how easy they are to eat, I can’t promise that will allow them to last any longer!
Yield: Makes 2 Dozen Cookies
Lemon-Mint Cooler Cookies
Covered in powdered sugar with a bright splash of citrus and cooling peppermint, these are invigorating little morsels to enjoy. For the full experience, try eating them straight out of the fridge.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Additional Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter
- 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 2 – 4 Drops Peppermint Oil or 1/4 – 1/2 Teaspoons Peppermint Extract
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, thoroughly cream together the butter and granulated sugar using the paddle attachment. Pause periodically to scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.
- Once the mixture is homogeneous and fluffy, add in the lemon zest, peppermint, and salt, and mix to combine. Introduce the flour and baking soda next, starting the mixer on a slow speed until the flour is mostly incorporated, to prevent the dry goods from flying out and re-decorating the kitchen.
- Finally, add the lemon juice and vanilla. It may seem as though the mixture is too dry to come together, but be patient and keep mixing; it will eventually form cohesive dough. Resist the urge to add more liquid!
- Scoop out walnut-sized balls and roll them between your palms to achieve smooth spheres. Place them at least 1-inch apart on your prepared baking sheets, and flatten them out slightly.
- Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until the bottom edges just begin to brown. Carefully pull the cookie-topped baking sheets off of the hot sheet pans, and let rest for 5 minutes before tossing them in the confectioner’s sugar.
- Let cool completely before enjoying. Better yet, store them in the fridge for an even more cooling treat!
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 89Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 66mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.